Heat-insulated wall construction



Feb. l, 1938. E. R. BOSE HEAT INSULATED WALL CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. l5, 1936 Edward f?. Bose BY %K ATTORNEY i HEAT INSULATED WALL CONSTRUCTION INVENTOR Zdward j?. 50.5@

i, ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEAT-INSULATED WALL CON STRUCTTON Application August 15, 1936, Serial No. 96,169

14 Claims.

My invention relates to heat insulation, and more particularly to the insulation of refrigerating rooms, chambers, cars, etc. and to the construction and assembly Vof the insulation for s the side and end walls and ceiling of the refrigerating room, and more specifically to the construction of a false roof or ceiling for refrigerating rooms.

It frequently happens that the entire space of a refrigerating chamber, car, or other compartment is not utilized to full capacity, and there results a considerable space which is not occupied but nevertheless must be refrigerated and hence increases the cost of refrigeration. l To limit the refrigerated space to that actually occupied by the goods being stored, false ceilings are erected which reduce the size of the room. In the methods of erecting false ceilings now commonly employed, wooden or steel joists or 2,) beams are employed and the insulating material either rests upon these joists, the latter then projecting into the refrigerating space, or are suspended from the joists, the latter then projecting into the space between the false ceil- 25 ing and the true or original ceiling. The use of wooden joists has proved to be very objectionable because of the tendency to rapid disintegration, and particularly to dry-rot. Where the joists project into the refrigerating space, they inter- :m fere with the proper circulation of air; on the other hand, when they project into the space above the false ceiling, the insulation being below the joists, difficulty is encountered in securing the insulation to the joists since the insula- 33 tion must carry its own weight and also the Weight of any facing material with which it may be finished, such as paint, plaster, mastic, tile, etc., while dry-rotting is favored in the case of wooden beams. Where structural shapes are 4,) employed as the joists, continuous contact with the sheets of insulation, with elimination of air pockets, is practically impossible because of the fact that whereas the sheets of insulation are generally placed on the market in more or less 45 standard sizes of rectangular shape, the structural shapes have non-rectangular outlines with sloping surfaces and rounded corners and do not fit the sheets of insulation. Constructions are also known in which the joists are erected with 5 the insulation applied between them, but such constructions have been found to be unsatisfactory because of the difficulty of completely encasing the joists in insulation and in avoiding continuous, through pathways of air or metal for 55 the transmission of heat into the refrigerating (Cl. 'l2-1) space and preventing loss of refrigeration. It was also extremely diicult in prior constructions to eliminate completely' cracks and crevices through which warm moist air could seep in, the condensing moisture dripping on the stored foods and also soaking the Wooden beams, thus promoting their decay. Where such joists are of wood, complete encasement in insulation subjects them to decay or dry-rot; when they are exposed to the moist air in the refrigerator compartment they are subjected to wet-rot and warping. With steel beams, condensation of moisture on the beams causes rusting and dripping of discolored Water onto the goods being stored.

Moreover, the use of steel joists is expensive.

It is an object of the present invention to provide va sheet metal unit for building up walls, including ceilings, units of identical construction being capable of being intertted or interconnectcd to form a metallic structure of repetitive cross-section which can receive or be covered with layers of uniform slabs or blocks of insulating material in a manner to interrupt all metallic paths for the passage of heat from one side of the wall to the other.

t is also an object of the present invention to rovide a simple and inexpensive method of constructing a false roof or ceiling within a refrigerated chamber for the purpose above indicated which relieves the ceiling insulation of load, presents a substantially smooth and sanitary undersurface, and is free of the danger of rusting or rotting.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an insulated false ceiling construction which, While it may include metallic parts, has no continuous metallic path from its inner to its outer surface, whereby the metallic conduction of heat from the exterior to the refrigerated storage space is eliminated.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a false ceiling construction composed of interlocking sections of more or less standard or uniform construction Wherewith a ceiling can be rapidly built Within the chamber. The invention contemplates also the provision of novel means whereby very long ceilings may be supported upon the side Walls and particularly upon posts associated with the side wall insulation, the parts being all so organized and arranged, that an insulating envelope completely surrounds the refrigerating space.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the description of the invention l v the H-beams for supporting the ends of assembled groups of metallic sections;

Fig. 5 shows a cross-section along the line 5 5 of Fig. 1 and Fig. 6 shows the metallic units of Fig. 2 employed in inverted position; while Fig. 7 illustrates the ceiling sections of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 1 shows the lower portion of a refrigerating room or chamber whose side walls II) and floor II may be made of brick, wood, concrete or any other suitable building material. Although the ceiling construction of the present invention may be employed for the normal ceiling or roof of any type of refrigerating room,'it is of particular advantage for the reduction of the height of the refrigerating space of an already existing room and will be described in connection with such use although, as indicated, it is not limited thereto.

The side walls I8 of the refrigerating chamber are lined with an outer and inner layer of insulating material I2 and I3, respectively. These insulating layers may be made up of standard sheets or blocks of cork or other suitable insulating material and if desired the inner layer may be covered with a coating I4 of plaster or other preferably non-porous and moisture-proof material. The outer and inner layers of insulation I2 and I3 may extend also along they floor of the compartment and they may there be covered with a layer of concrete I la'.` or other suitable flooring material.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, the roof or ceiling is constructed of a number of interlocked sections I8 made preferably of sheet metal', and preferably galvanized or otherwise made non-rusting. In the form shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the sections I8 are of channel or U-shape, the lateral sides being in the form of reversely bent anges I9 and 20, that is, in the form of an inverted U. The flange I9 of each section is adapted to fit tightlyin frictional relation over the flange of the adjoining section and to this end the inner dimension of the flange I9 is made slightly smaller than the outer dimension of the flange 28, so that when the flange I9 is forced over the fiange 20 of the adjoining section the two are held together in interlocking engagement by the resilience of the metal. The flange 20 is made of slightly smaller height than the flange I9 so that when several sections are assembled, as shown in Fig. 3, the tops of the flanges I9 and the bottoms 2I, respectively, of the several sections are in horizontal alignment.

The sections I8 are made of any convenient length and Width, taking into consideration the strength ofthe material and the stiffening action of the flanges. For galvanized iron sheets about one foot wide, a safe maximum length is about 14 feet. When the room is about 14 feet wide or less, the sections may be cut to bridge the ,width of the room. Where, however, the length and width of the room are greater than the maximum safe length of the sections I8, it is desirable to provide relatively rigid joists upon which the ends of assembled ceiling units are supported. These joists are illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4 and comprise H-shaped members 22 which may be made by welding or otherwise securing together two channel members along their web sections. The surfaces of the H-structure are preferably flat and rectangular as distinguished from the inclined surfaces and rounded corners of structural channels, for a purpose which will be explained hereinbelow.

The H-beams or joists 22 rmay be supported directlyupon the layers of insulation I2 and I3 or upon the brick or other wall I0, a rigid bearing plate being employed to distribute the load -upon a relatively large area. However, to secure maximum rigidity and strength, I prefer to provide pairs of posts 25 at suitable intervals along the side walls for supporting the joists 22. As illustrated, these posts are of channel shape and extend approximately to the upper edges of the wall insulation I3. The posts rest with their webs against the outer layer of insulation I2, the insulation I3 being cut away to receive such posts and flanking the sides of the posts, as can best be seen in Fig, 5. The posts are filled with a strip of insulation I3a.y and the sides of the posts are preferably made of Aa length corresponding to the thickness of the rinsulation I3, so'that the inner edges of the posts are flush with the inner surface of the insulation I3 and the coating'of plaster I4 smoothly covers the joints between the posts and the insulation. It will be seen from Fig. 5 that the posts 25 are completely insulated from the outer wall I0.

The beams 22 may rest directly upon the sides of the posts, but to enable wider and hence stronger posts to be employed, I prefer to rest the beams upon the web portions of such posts. The beams may be welded or otherwise secured to the posts.

In erecting the false ceiling of a rather long refrigerating chamber as illustrated in Fig. 1, the upper edges of the side wall insulation I3, which may be composed of standard widthsof cork board or other insulating material, are out away or rabbeted as Vshown at 23 to provide a shoulder upon which the end metallic sections I8 may rest and a similar shoulder is provided upon the insulation of the end wall 24 and the opposite wall (not shown in Fig, 1). The left-hand end section I8 of the ceiling group A is put iny piace, as indicated at a, and fitted upon the shoulders of the insulation I3 and within the furthermost beam 2 2 as viewed in Fig. 1. The next sections are,then progressively assembled toward therright, the flange I 9 of each added section being fitted over the fiange'ZU of the previouslypositioned section` until the last section is Y nally put into place as shown at b'. The assembled group of metallic sections is now given a coating of a suitable water-proof cement or binder, such as asphalt, as shown at 26 (Fig..2). Asphalt may be applied either hot or in the form of an emulsion. The individual channels I8 are now filled with slabs of cork board 21 or other Suitable insulating material, the thickness of the board being preferably at least equal to the height of the flanges I 9; in Fig, 2 they are shown as projecting a short distance above the flanges I9. The composite layer of insulation 21 is now given a coating of asphaltor other cementing and filling material 281. This coating lls in the sp-aces between the adjoining sections of insulation 21 and protects the insulation against moisture. Y It will be obvious that the thickness of the cork board 2l' may be such that the board terminates below the iianges i9 and the channel sections i8 may then be filled in with asphalt until the upper surface is completely smooth. While the layer of asphalt 2S is still fluid, a second layer of insulating material composed of sections 29 is then applied, the sections 29 being arranged in staggered relation with respect to the sections 2l so as to cover the joints between the latter sections. 'Ihe-whole unit is then given a iinal coating 2i) of asphalt or other water-proof material. In similar manner, ceiling groups B' and C are assembled, each being provided with the alternating layers of asphalt and sheets of insulating material as shown in Fig, 2.

It will be observed from Figs. 2 and 3 that although the rigidity of the ceiling units is supplied by the metal sections I8, there is no continus-us metallic path from such sections to the exterior of the chamber because of the overlying layer of insulation 29'.V To eliminate any such metallic path for the conduction of heat in the case of the beams 22, I provide a third layer of insulation 3l above and along said beams and extending transversely to the sheets of insulation 2l and 29. The insulation 3l is cemented to the insulation 2S by means of the asphalt and may itself be covered with a coating of asphalt.

As shown in Fig. 1, the layers of insulation E3 and 29 t against each other in such a'manner that the outer anges oi the two outer sections I8 are completely surrounded by such insulation. All metallic parts associated with the insulation structure are thus completely insulated against the ouside,

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 6 the ceiling or roof units or sections i8 are built exactly as shown in Fig. 3, but they are employed in the inverted condition. This arrangement has the advantage over that shown in Fig. 3 that the rst layer 2'! of insulation rests upon a substantially continuous flat surface and no metallic parts project into such layer. On the other hand the arrangement of Fig. 6 has the disadvantage that the downwardly projecting flanges i9 and 20 impede to a certain extent the circulation of air, favoring the formation of air pockets. However, by making these flanges of small height, the interference with the air circulation can be reduced to a minimum.

Fig. 7 shows an enlarged View of the ceiling units embodied in the assembled construction shown in Fig. 1. The unit 3l is provided with a reversely bent ilange 32 and with ay single-walled flange 33, As in the construction shown in Fig. 3, the reversely bent iiange 32 is adapted to fit over the adjacent iiange 33 of an adjoining section, and the interlocked langes will be in continuous contact along their interengaging anges and the corner 3d of one unit will be directly adjacent to the corner 35 of the next unit, so that a substantially continuous and lat under surface is provided which is free of air pockets and can be easily kept clean.

A similar result is obtained with the construction shown in Fig. 3, in which the iianges i9 and 29 are bent in the same direction, so that when the flange i9 is fitted over the flange 2i) of an adjoining section, the webs 2i are brought into close proximity, and the webs accordingly present a substantially continuous surface, no air pockets being formed as-would be the case if the flanges were bent in opposite directions.

The inside width of the channel sections I8, that is, the distance between the flanges, is preferably made to conform with the width of standard section of insulating board. For cork board this dimension is usually I2 inches, although 18 inch, 24 inch and other widths may be used.

As already indicated, when the refrigerating room has one dimension which does not exceed the maximum of a unit roofsection (say, 14 feet) the sections are made of a length equal to the exact length (or width) of the room plus twice the thickness of the innermost layery of insulation, so that the sections can be supported by such insulating lining. Enough sections of standard width are usedl to extend'over the width (or length) of the room plus a sufficient amount to allow the end sections to penetrate the innermost layer of insulation on the end walls. In this way the entire ceiling rests upon the innermost layer of insulation and at no point does the metal decking or ceiling protrude through the outer layer of insulation.

The roof sections may be made or" any suitable material, metallic or non-metallic, such as galvanized iron, enameledV steel, stainless. steel, aluminum, Monel metal, plastics, precast concrete, etc.

It will be obvious that'while I have specifically described my sectional metallic units as employed in building up a roof or ceiling they are equally well suited for the construction of the other walls of a chamber, such as the side walls.

Various changes in the form, sides, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims Without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the H-beam may be replaced by an inverted T-beam, which may be made by welding or bolting together two L-shaped members along contacting sides. Also the two layers of insulation on the side walls may beA replaced by a single, thicker layer which is suitably rabbeted to provide a support for the ceiling units.

Iclaim:

l. A heat-insulated chamber comprising side walls, end-walls, a oor and a ceiling, said ceiling comprising a plurality oi individual, interengaging, similarly shaped metallic sections extending from one` side 'wall to the opposite side wall, and a continuous sheathing of heat insulating material lining the side Walls of the room and extending about'the outer edges of the assembledY metallic units and completely covering said units, said sheathing including heat-insulating material between the assembled metallic sections and said side walls, whereby no continuous metallic path for the passage of heat extends from the interior to the exterior of the chamber.

2. A heat-insulated chamber having Walls lined with sheets of heat insulating material, and a ceiling resting upon said sheets and comprising a plurality of interengaging metallic sections, and heat insulating material completely covering said. metallic sections, the insulation of the side Walls extending to at least the top of the adjacent metallic' sections to insulate the sides of the metallic portion of the ceiling.

3. A heat-insulated chamber having a false ceiling composed of a plurality of aligned insulation supporting units, sheets of insulation arranged upon said units and presenting a substantially continuous smooth upper surface, and a second layer of sheets of insulation upon the iirst layer and inv staggered-relation to'thejoints of the first layer, said second layer thereby both covering the supporting units and bridging the joints between the sheets of the first layer.

4. A heat-insulated chamber having a false ceiling composed of a plurality of interlocked U-shaped metal sections each having reversely bent flanges, the iiange of one section being adapted to be fitted over the flange of the adjoining section, the first flange being higher than the second so that in the assembled condition the upper and lower surfaces of the sections are respectively in horizontal alignment, and insulating material overlying the assembled ceiling sections and presenting an impeding mass of insulation to all metallic and air paths leading upwardly from the bottom surface of the ceiling.

5. A heat-insulated chamber comprising side walls provided with an insulating covering, and a ceiling structure supported uponthe insulation of the side walls and comprising a plurality of interlocked metallic sections each having a reversely bent flange adapted to frictionally engage the adjacent flange of an adjoining section, sheets of insulation overlying and Vcemented tothe ceiling sections, a second layer of sheets of insulation overlying the first layer fand in staggered relation thereto, said second layer of insulation thus overlying the metallic sections and the joints between the sheets of the first layer.

6. A heat-insulated chamber comprising side walls provided with an insulating covering including two layers of insulating material Yand a ceiling structure supported upon the inner layer of insulation and comprising a plurality of interlocked metallic sections, rigid posts positioned at the side walls, a cross-beam resting upon the posts and supporting the ends of assembled groups of ceiling sections, and sheets of insulating material covering said ceiling sections and its cross-beam, the sheets being so disposed as to present an impeding mass of insulation to heat-conducting paths leading from the lower surface of said sections.

'7. A heat-insulated chamber comprising side walls provided with an insulating covering including two layers of insulating material, supporting posts resting against the outer layer of insulation of two opposite side walls, the innerV layer of insulation flanking the posts on both sides thereof, and a ceiling structure supported upon the inner layer of insulation and upon said posts and comprising a. plurality of interlocked metallic sections, a cross-beam resting upon the posts and supporting the ends of assembled groups of ceiling sections, and sheets of insulating material covering said ceiling sections and crossbeam, the sheets being so disposed as to present an impeding mass of insulation to heat-conducting paths leading from the lower surface of said sections.

8. A heat-insulated chamber comprising side walls provided with an insulating covering including two layers of insulating material, supporting posts of channel form resting yagainst the outer layer of insulation on twol opposite side walls, the inner layer of insulation flanking the posts on both sides thereof, and a ceiling structure supported upon the inner layer of insulation and .upon said posts and comprising a plurality of interlocked channel-shaped sections, a crossbeam of H-shape receiving the ends of yassembled groups of ceiling sections on both sides thereof and supported by said posts, and insulating material surrounding the channel-shaped sections and the H-beam and interrupting all paths for the conduction of heat through such sections and H-beam.

9. A heat-insulated chamber comprising side walls provided with an insulating covering including two layers of insulating material, supporting posts of channel form resting against the outer layer of insulationv on two opposite sidev walls, the inner layer of insulation flanking the posts on both sides thereof, and a ceiling structure supported upon the inner layer of insulation and upon said posts and comprising a plurality of interlocked channel-shaped sections, a crossbeam of H-shape receiving the ends of assembled groups of ceiling sections on both vsides' thereof and supported by the posts, sheets of insulating material within the channel-shaped ceiling sections, said sheets extending to approximately the upper edges of the said sections, sheets of insulation overlying the first layer and extending to approximately the upper edges of said beams and being received therewithin, and a transverse layer of insulation overlying the H-beam.

10. A heat-insulated chamber comprising side walls provided with an insulating covering including two layers of insulating material, supporting posts of channel form resting against the outer layer of insulation on two opposite side walls, the inner layer of insulation flanking the posts on both sides thereof, and a ceiling structure supported upon the inner layer of insulation and upon said posts andcomprlsing a plurality of interlocked channel-shaped sections having re'- versely bent flanges along their edges, the fiange of one section fitting over and interlocking with the flange of the adjacent section, across-beam of H-shape receiving the ends of adjacent groups of ceiling sections on both sides thereof and resting upon the posts, sheets of insulating material within the ceiling sections, said sheets extending to approximately the upper edges of the anges of said sections, sheets of insulation overlying the first layer of sheets and arranged in staggered relation thereto, said second layer extending to approximately the upper edges of said beam and being received therewithin, and a transverse layer of insulation overlying such beam.

11. A heat-insulated chamber comprising side walls provided with an insulating covering including two layers of insulating material, supporting posts resting against the outer layer of insulation on two opposite side walls, the inner layer of insulation fianking the posts on both sides thereof, and a ceiling structure supported upon the inner layer of insulation and upon said posts and comprising a plurality of interlocked channel-shaped sections having reversely bent fianges along their side edges, the flange of one section fitting over and interlocking with the flange of the adjacent section, a cross-beam of H-shape receiving the ends of assembled groups of ceiling sections on both sides thereof and resting upon said posts, sheets of insulating material within the channel-shaped ceiling sections cemented to the latter by a layer of water-proof material, said sheets extending to approximately the upper edges of the flanges of said sections, a layer of waterproofing material over said aligned sheets of nsulation,ksheets of insulation overlying the first layer of sheets and arranged in staggered relation thereto, said second layer extending to approximately the upper edges of said beam and being received therewithin, a transverse layer of insulation overlying the H- beam, and a coating of water-proof material over the second and last-mentioned layers of insulation.

l2. A heat-insulated chamber comprising side Walls provided with an insulating covering including two layers of insulating material, supporting postsof channel form resting against the outer layer of insulation on two opposite side Walls, the inner layer of insulation anking the posts on both sides thereof, anda ceiling structure supported upon the inner layer of insulation and upon said posts and comprising a plurality of interlocked channel-shaped sections having reversely bent iianges along their side edges, the flange of one section tting over and interlocking with the flange of the adjacent section, a cross beam of H-shape receiving the ends of assembled groups of ceiling sections on both sides thereof and resting upon the posts, sheets of insulating material Within the channel-shaped roof sections and cemented to the latter by a layer of asphalt, said sheets extending to at least the height of the flanges of said sections, a layer of asphalt over said aligned sheets of insulation, sheets of insulation overlying the rst layer of sheets and arranged in staggered relation thereto, said second layer extending to approximately the upper edges of said beams and being received therewithin, a transverse layer of insulation overlying the H- beam, and a layer of asphalt over the second and last-mentioned layers of insulation.

13. Al heat-insulating Wall construction for rooms, comprising a plurality of interlocked, individual sheet metal sections of generally U- shape, the side Walls of said sections extending from the extreme edges of the horizontal portions and at right angles thereto, and at least certain of said side Walls being reversely bent to fit over and interlock with the adjacent parallel side Wall of an adjoining unit, rectangular strips of insulation Within the sections extending from one side Wall to the other and filling the space therebetween, and a layer of insulation overlying and attached to said strips and covering the side Walls of said sections, said layer and strips forming a continuous insulating covering for said sections, no continuous metallic path for the passage of heat thus extending from the surface of said sections to the space beyond the insulation.

14. A heat-insulating Wall construction, comprising a plurality of interlocked, similarly shaped, individual sheet metal sections having complementarily shaped flanges, the anges of a section intertting with the anges of adjoining sections and presenting iiat sides extending at right angles to the intermediate portions of the sections, the uppermost edges of the assembled anges lying in the same plane, said sections in their assembled condition presenting a substantially iiat surface in a plane parallel to the aforementioned plane, individual blocks of insulating material extending from one side Wall to the other lof the assembled sections and extending to ap- 

